Are you hanging on to a pile of sewing scraps just because the fabric is too pretty to throw away? If so, don’t toss ‘em in the trash—‘tis the season to think about creative ways to reinvent those scraps. Here’s a trio of festive possibilities:

1. Trim the Christmas tree. Cut out two identical pieces in the shape of trees, snowmen, or other seasonal shapes, and sew them together front to front, leaving one end open. Flip the little pouch right side out, stuff it with cotton batting or panty hose, and stitch it shut. Attach color-coordinated ribbons and hang the decorations on the tree.
2. Wrap presents. Use larger scraps in place of wrapping paper and tie them with braid, rickrack, or high-quality ribbon—thereby delivering a bonus to the lucky gift recipient: the makings of a decorative pillow!
3. Tag it. Cut shapes out of smaller remnants, and glue them onto sturdy, solid-colored paper. Write messages on the tags with permanent marker, punch a hole in one end, and secure them to gifts with colorful ribbons.

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Here’s a terrific recipe for pumpkin muffins that’s sure to be a hit Thanksgiving morning. They taste and smell sinfully delicious, but they’ve only got 159 calories each—so you’ll have plenty of room for turkey and all the trimmin’s later in the day! Truth is, these muffins are good enough to be a part of your healthy, whole-grain diet any time of year, so you can skip the sugary, processed snacks.

Ingredients:
1½ cups white whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup honey
3 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl, mix the flour, spice, baking soda, and baking powder. In a small bowl, combine the egg, pumpkin, honey, and oil. Stir until well blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir just until mixed. Fold in the raisins, and ladle the batter into the paper liners. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you’re making one final cleanup in your yard and garden this weekend—and let’s face it, this is probably the last chance you’ll have to do yard work before temps start to plunge—don’t be so quick to clear away everything in your flower beds. While it’s tempting to cut down flowers after the first frost, take my advice this year and leave some of the seedheads standing. That way, you’ll have more to look at during the winter. Even without their colorful petals, seedheads have a subtle beauty all their own. Plus, they catch falling snowflakes, creating fun snow sculptures that change with each flurry. Standing seedheads also provide a great natural source of seeds that’ll attract winter birds to your garden without the bother of filling feeders!

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The chill in the air means it’s that time of year again—so fire up the ol’ furnace and let the indoor heating season begin. But before you start cranking up the heat, you’ll need to clean or replace your furnace’s filters. After all, maintaining your heating system properly is one of the best ways to put a lid on sky high fuel bills.

If your filters are permanent, simply remove them and hose ‘em off outside. Let them dry completely before sliding them back into the furnace. But if your filters are disposable, don’t clean and reuse them—toss ‘em out! Then, head to the nearest hardware store to purchase a few new ones.

Just keep in mind that “bargain” filters are less efficient and need to be replaced more often, so don’t automatically reach for the cheapest one on the shelf. And if allergies are a problem in your family, then spend the extra money and buy filters that have the highest MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) you can find. You’ll breathe a whole lot easier because these hardworking helpers will trap lots of sneezy, wheezy pollen and dander.

For more solutions that’ll cool down the high price of heating, check out my Insider Secrets book—FREE for 21 days. It’s filled with terrific tips for just about any problem that crops up around your home.

Happy Halloween! Here’s hoping for all treats and no tricks this year as the H1N1 virus rears its ugly head in every neighborhood around the country. But the little ghosts and goblins who come knocking on your door still want to have fun, so let’s let them enjoy their night of frights with a few tips to keep the spread of germs in check.

• Stress the importance of not sharing candy or drinks with others.
  
• Tell your kids to wash their hands often, and well—and you do the same between handing out treats.
  
• Consider handing out non-food treats, like stickers or pencils.
  
• Use a scoop instead of your hands to get the treats into the kids’ bags.

Once your trick-or-treaters have returned home, inspect their bags, and toss any candy with wet or torn wrappers. Then keep the rest of the treats in a clean bag, and don’t touch them for two days—which is plenty of time for lingering germs to die.

And if you’re still wracking your brain for the perfect last-minute costume, how about going as the one thing everyone fears most this Halloween—the swine flu! Search online for an image of what the virus looks like under a microscope. Then paint your face to match the image, add pig ears, a pig snout, and a curly pink tail. And happy haunting!

Boo! Get ready for the spookiest time of the year—that’s right; Halloween is just a week away. So have you picked out a pumpkin to carve into a jack-o’-lantern yet? Here are a few timely tips that’ll help you get the job done just in time for trick-or-treat night frights:

• Liven things up this year, and choose a pumpkin that’s not perfectly round or evenly colored. You can use the imperfections to give monstrous character to your design.
  
• Add a notch to the pumpkin’s top when you remove it to make a lid. Otherwise you’ll have a devil of a time remembering which way it goes on.
  
• When you’ve decided on your design, draw it on the pumpkin’s surface with a dry-erase marker so you can wipe away any stray marks after you’re done cutting.
  
• Ice cream scoops are ideal tools for scraping out the pumpkin guts, and paring knives are just the ticket for cutting out the facial features.
  

Once your pumpkin is carved to perfection, find a place of horror—er—honor for it on your front porch. And when it’s time to clean up the mess, don’t throw away those pumpkin seeds! They’re a good, concentrated source of zinc, a critical virus-fighter. Separate the seeds from the pulp under running water, then spread them on a cooking sheet in a single layer. Coat them with non-stick cooking spray, then sprinkle them lightly with salt. Bake at 325°F for about 25 minutes or so, until toasted. Then gobble ‘em up!

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In a week or so, our trees are gonna start droppin’ leaves like there’s no tomorrow. And before you know it, we’re going to have to deal with gunked-up gutters. But this year, the job will be a whole lot easier because I’m using a DIY gutter scoop that’s made from an empty laundry bottle. Here’s how to do it:

• Start with a plastic fabric softener, detergent, or bleach bottle that’s no wider than your gutters. Most standard 100-oz. bottles will fit just fine, but choose a bottle that’s got a handle.
• Rinse the bottle out, and replace the cap.
• Turn the bottle so that the handle is on top, and slice off the bottom with a pair of scissors. Make sure the cut is angled so that the bottom of the bottle is much longer than the top—cut the top back nearly to the handle.

That’s all there is to it—your scoop is ready to slide along the gutter, scraping up any and all leaves and debris that are in its path. So grab some garden gloves and an extension ladder and dig in. Just a few words of caution before you get started, though: Whenever you’re up on a ladder, make sure you move it with you as you work, or you’ll stretch beyond your reach and could lose your balance. And never, ever hang on to a gutter or downspout because they can let loose with the slightest pull.

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